Beaverton Company Hit By Product Recall

The federal government’s Food and Drug Administration announced recently that Beaverton-based King International has agreed to recall its ShoulderFlex Massager. The Oregon product recall was ordered after evidence emerged that ShoulderFlex use can lead to serious injuries or even a product liability-related Oregon wrongful death.

“One death and one near-strangulation have been reported after a necklace and piece of clothing became caught in a rotating component of the device. In other cases the FDA says people’s hair became caught in the ShoulderFlex,” Portland television station KATU reports.

The station notes that all 12,000 of the massagers the company has sold nationwide since 2003 are being recalled. It adds that efforts to obtain a comment from the Beaverton-based company were unsuccessful.

From the perspective of an Oregon product liability attorney, it is good to see an unsafe product pulled from shelves (and, hopefully, also from cyberspace, where many of the ShoulderFlex devices have reportedly been sold), but worrisome that it took so long. The number of serious injuries that could be caused over the eight-year period during which the product was on sale is difficult to imagine. Situations like this are classic examples of why our civil courts are so important, allowing, as they do, a chance for those injured by dangerous products to obtain justice in ways the product recall system itself is often unable to offer.

A Portland or Beaverton product liability and wrongful death lawyer can help clients sort through the conflicting medical and legal claims that often emerge in cases like this. Ordinary Oregonians should never feel that they are at a disadvantage when squaring off against a well-funded company in court. Experienced legal help can level the playing field and ensure that justice is done when products that ought to be safe end up causing harm instead.